Yakuzaice said:
You do realize this poll is about first party studios, and it isn't about sales. So I'm not sure why you are bringing up overall software sales. Even then, looking at Microsoft published games, they no longer have (or never had) Bungie, Ensemble, Bizarre Creations, Epic, Realtime Worlds, Team Ninja, Mistwalker, Remedy, Silicon Knights, iNiS, Screenlife, Zoe Mode, Triumph, Q Entertainment, From Software, Artoon, Blitz Games, also a Gearbox, Eden, and Rockstar games are listed for them as well (I guess they published them in one region). So that brings the ~73m Microsoft published games down to ~16.2 million from current Microsoft Games Studios. Now obviously stuff like Halo from 343 will still sell pretty well, but their first party is pretty much down to Lionhead, Rare, and Turn 10 these days. It's hardly controversial to say that both Sony and Nintendo have better groups of first party studios. Of course opinions can differ, maybe Fable is your favorite series ever, but even then you can't really be surprised that most people prefer Sony or Nintendo. Also based on your line of thinking, would you agree that Wii Fit is by far the best game released this generation? It has almost certainly brought in more revenue than any other console or handheld game. |
By my reasoning Wii fit ( which came bundled with alot of Wii's ) isn't a factor in best selling games.. because best selling games are ones people go out and buy because they have to have it.. not because they saved 40 dollars buying it bundled..
That being said.. Having alot of 1st party studios is a philosophy that is supposed to mean more high quality games that sell more games then what your competition does. This philosophy worked well for Sony in the past mainly because the PS2's large userbase which Sony had a 1.5 year launch ( of the PS2 ) headstart on the very underpowered gamecube ( that didnt even play DVD's ) and nearly 2yrs headstart on MS's first endeavor - Xbox 1 ( which was more powerful but way too late to put a dent into the Sony machine that was rolling hot off PS1's success ) ...The only reason any game studio ( 1st party or not ) exist is to sell alot.. and my whole point is.. if Sony is in last place in sales of games ( the only reason they exist is to make titles that sell alot and equally as important to make ALOT OF CASH ) .. then sales are saying that Sony is doing someting wrong someplace...
So you can argue yeah they have more 1st party studios, you can argue the quality is 'better' in your opinion.. but the sales don't reflect that alot of kids out there care who has more support in 1st party..
They care about who has the best games.. Yes kids, because lets face it.. gaming has shifted away from Asia and more to the west.. and kids now want great First Person Shooters.. Addictive action packed in your face reflex, mt dew drinking fun.. and half of games out there thankfully yeah offer something different, but frankly most kids now are playing COD or Halo... If you look up most played games on PSN, or Xbox Live it'll reflect what Im saying that FPS's are where its at.. which makes alot of exclusive 1st party studio philosopy alittle less important, even though it still is a good thing ..All COD titles are among the best selling games on both consoles and most played overall on PSN or Xbox Live networks.. Games like Final Fantasy are still selling decent, but compared to 15 yrs ago they are a dieing game genre.. alot of kids find those games boring now.. and when I was that age FF was what alot of us loved.. So 3rd party support is as important or more important if thats what sells more games... and again these are the #1 sellers on both consoles..
I think the big picture is this.. its not the number of 1st party studios or 3rd party studios you have. If you have a large enough user base then if you know which games to market and which studios to keep close thats all that really matters.. Sony has lost just enough exclusives to make it lose some luster.. and MS in only its 2nd gen system has kept pace with Sony in number consoles sold worldwide and just plain outsold them in games overall, but mostly in best selling titles that can push system sales.. Right now Move is helping PS3, but I think it'll be the same story for Kinect.. not a huge rush, but enough to push sales... having the most 1st party studio's no longer guarantee's anything.. All you need are a few good ones.. and the days of great one console exclusives are lessening as well.. which is why a good many best sellers are multi-platform titles..
If you're merely a Sony fan or a MS fan or a Nintendo fan I guess you can completely buy into this 1st party matters most... but in the real world sales dictate to executives what works and what doesnt.. which is ones reason Activision ( the largest 3rd party studio in the world ) aquired Bungie studios, which in turn will probably make more money making a multi-platform game... Which goes back to my originally post.. If 1st party studios matter so much and their games are so good.. why is Sony so far behind in overall game sales ( and also in best selling titles ) when they are not that far behind the 360 in worldwide console sales...
Those of you who made it into I'm mad so I had to bring up sales figures missed the whole point..because your fanboyism somehow figured 1st party mattered because there's a 1 in front of it instead of a 3 .. If you're Sony, MS, Nintendo and you're 3rd party developer is making better games and selling more then you're 1st party studio ( to whom you're paying more money ) that makes it all less worthwhile and could change how you do business later.. you ask yourself: Do 1st party studios matter as much when YOU're user base is no longer #1 in most consoles sold & developers dont want to make an exclusive for you when you dont have the world largest userbase and wont get the biggest return ? .. I GUARANTEE if the Wii when it was launched ) has been as powerful a system as the 360 or PS3 ( while still having that motion controller ) it would have the most exclusives that rocked ( aka PS2 ) only because every developer would jump onboard knowing a big paycheck would be coming later.., And do 1st party studios matter as much when the industry is shifting to a new business model philosophy that 3rd party studios make as good of games as anyone else - make more money and get it done faster too..
